Gas turbine engines are used to power aircraft, watercraft, power generators, and the like. Gas turbine engines typically include a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine. The compressor compresses air drawn into the engine and delivers high pressure air to the combustor. In the combustor, fuel is mixed with the high pressure air and is ignited. Products of the combustion reaction in the combustor are directed into the turbine where work is extracted to drive the compressor and, sometimes, an output shaft. Left-over products of the combustion are exhausted out of the turbine and may provide thrust in some applications.
Blades of the turbine interact with products of the combustion reaction in the combustor such that the combustion reaction products heat the blades and cause them to experience very high temperatures. The blades are often made from high-temperature compatible materials such as composite materials and are sometimes actively cooled by supplying air to the blades. Design and manufacture of blades from composite materials remains an area of interest.